Air Bubbles
by emmals16
Summary: Ace had never really thought about the curse the Devil Fruits gave their user. At least, until now. Now, they have caused his little brother to stop breathing.


**Apparently, I'm in a phase where I write aimlessly in search of a decent story. The inspiration and motivation has left me. I need ideas *sigh*.**

 **Anywho, what else could be better for writer's block than an Ace and Luffy story! With plenty of angst and fluff. Yay!**

 **DIsclaimer: (I don't own One Piece)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been stupid. Completely, and incredibly stupid.

At least, that's what Ace thinks now, as he dives into the cold depths of the sea, half panicking and half trying to figure out exactly where his little brother might have sunk to.

They had gone out to find food, like they usually did as per Dadan's request. Ace had complied as he usually did, feeling a little spiteful, despite the mass of energy beside him. Luffy had felt happy to go hunting with his big brother. He always did.

"Luffy," Ace hissed as Luffy tripped over a twig, falling face first into the mud and crying out in surprise. He had scared off a particularly large animal of some sort. So much for that becoming dinner, "be more quiet would you."

Luffy popped his head up, face covered in dirt, and smiled apologetically, "Sorry!"

They wandered a little more after that. Strolling through the woods that the people of Windmill Village wouldn't even dare go through, lest they weren't afraid of the "notorious" mountain bandits high in the mountains. Ace silently exhaled a puff of air at the thought of Dadan and the others being feared so much.

Ace suddenly heard the snap of a twig near him. Just ahead, he knew a large beast was roaming. This forest were filled with many beasts as such, one of which had left a crater in Ace's mind. That bear that hurt Luffy a while back. He was sure to deal with that as soon as he could.

But, there were still many monsters that he had yet to get rid of.

Luffy was still behind Ace, swinging his pipe around aimlessly, looking around with half interest. He seemed to have had his attention caught by a particularly large beetle crawling up a nearby tree. Ace said nothing, walking lightly to see where the beast was at so he could plan his attack.

Around a tree, through an opening in the undergrowth stood not one, but two tigers encircling each other. They looked bigger than the one him, Luffy, and Sabo had fought a while ago, but they probably wouldn't be that big of a deal to kill. Ace had gotten stronger after all. He could take them, and with Luffy's help, there's no way this could be _that_ difficult.

"Oi, Luffy." Ace murmured, only sparing a peek behind him at Luffy, who was still being dazzled by the beetle. In fact, he was so dazzled that he was halfway up the incredibly tall tree trying to catch it. His pipe between his teeth.

Ace tried not to yell. He really did. So, clenching his teeth, he glared up above him at his little brother, "Luffy!" he hissed as loud as he dared.

Luffy tore his eyes away from the beetle, smiling in a strange sort of way that only his mouth could when a pipe's between his teeth, "Ace! Look what I found!"

It was loud, and something in Ace's stomach forced him to growl just as loud and shout, "Idiot! Keep your mouth shut, damnit!"

Luffy flailed, surprised and came tumbling down from the tree trunk, bouncing off the ground like a rubber ball, and coming to a halt a few feet from Ace.

A low rumble behind Ace, and he found himself slowly turning to see the two stalking figures looming over head. He smiled sheepishly, reaching his hand behind him in a blind attempt to grasp Luffy and pull him to his feet. Before he had a chance to, the tiger's let out a deafening roar, forcing Ace to grow serious and take a step back, standing protectively in front of Luffy.

"Get up, Lu!" he shouted, glaring up at the tigers ferociously. He felt Luffy accidentally bump him in the back with his pipe as he stood. Once he was sure his little brother was ready, he took a few more steps back, Luffy following him.

"Okay, we're going to have to split them up. We can't take them on when they're together like this."

Ace was glad Luffy didn't try to counter that, saying he was strong enough and blah blah blah. Nope, he just made a confirming grunt that said he understood, and then Ace was off, jumping up and smacking the closest tiger with his pipe. The tiger's head whipped to the side, a low, menacing growl erupting from its throat. Ace took that as a sign that he had earned its attention, and sped off, away from Luffy and the other tiger. He trusted Luffy would be able to guide that tiger in the opposite direction. Ace would then make a round about trip, losing the tiger currently chasing after him, and assisting Luffy with his instead.

He could manage that, couldn't he? Ace skidded to a halt, running directly at the tiger behind him, sliding underneath it and quickly jumping into a particularly dense bush. He stayed inside it, ignoring the thorns that were apparently on every branch, sticking to his clothing and scraping against his flesh.

The tiger was sniffing the air, trying to figure out where he had gone, and as soon as he knew it was safe enough, Ace rolled out from the bush and went running as silently as he could back in the direction of Luffy.

It wasn't really that far. He would have rather he had gotten the tiger further away, but he also didn't want to get lost. Not that he _would_ . . .

A loud roaring. The sound of claws crashing against trees. What was going on over there? _Please don't say he's trying to fight it . . ._ A flash of memory of Luffy trying to kill the bear king a while ago went off in Ace's head, and he allowed for his pace to quicken ever so slightly. He was a bit surprised when he found himself stepping out into direct sunlight, completely sure they were in the middle of the forest, and no where near the shoreline.

Large paw prints trailed from the last of the undergrowth, across the sand, all the way to where the large tiger stood, swiping at Luffy who was managing to evade every swipe that came at him. Still, Ace immediately went to intervene when he realized Luffy was literally trying to balance on a stone so he didn't fall into the watery depths only a few feet below. A small ledge was what they were on, and if he fell from that rock, he'd go plummeting into deep water, not just a piece of shore that he could touch the sand in.

That's precisely why Ace didn't hesitate for a second to slash at the angry tiger in front of him, nailing the beast right on the nose. It was to no avail however. The distraction only worked for a split second. Long enough for the tiger to become enthralled with Ace and swipe at him with their claws. The attack took Ace by surprise, and even though he held his pipe up, preventing the claws from getting him, the brunt of the attack swept him off his feet. He tumbled backwards, rolling and sliding across the sand before coming to a halt with a shuddering gasp.

Luffy began getting attacked again, successfully avoiding getting hit by any of the attacks. That was, until he became distracted. Only two attacks after Ace got hit did Luffy look away.

"Ace!" he called, easing up and looking at him with wide eyes, "are you oka-"

The tiger pounced, startling the last of the sentence out of Luffy and sending both of them tumbling into the watery depths. Ace saw the tiger plow right into his brother, the outcry for help, and then the loud splash.

Ace didn't react immediately, not really realizing what had happened until moments later. He had been used to hunting with Sabo. Sabo would have come right back up after that. Sabo could swim.

But, Luffy couldn't, and Ace immediately ran to the ledge where they had fallen in. He took a moment to think through his actions, and then dived in after them.

The cold water surrounded him. It wasn't dark, but the water was murky and prevented him from being able to see straight. That being said, Ace could see the tiger below, flailing in the water so it could begin swimming.

Ace ignored it, taking to swimming right by it, albeit a bit cautiously, and diving deeper into the water. He had done this a few times. All of them Luffy had been perfectly fine after a few minutes of being back on land.

He did feel a bit panicked though, because he _still couldn't see him._

And that's when he thought about how stupid the plan was. Separating the two of them. One on one with tigers bigger than any of the beasts they ever fought. How incredibly _stupid_.

Still no sign of his brother, the air squeezing out of his mouth in bubbles. It had _never_ taken this long before. This sudden, deep drop . . .

Usually Luffy mistakenly tripped into a shallow lake, and it would only take a second to fish him out.

Ace blinked against the saltiness of the water around him, trying to persuade his body to let him stay underwater for a little longer, and that was when he saw him. A white gleam in the water. Luffy's shirt.

With that, Ace pushed himself through the water, grasping hold of Luffy as soon as he was close enough, and swimming for the surface. He wasn't sure he could make it to the surface, but somehow he held on. His head burst through the water, and he gulped in a huge breath of air, making a strangled sound as he did so.

He was sure to bring Luffy up after him, supporting his head on his shoulder, and arm wrapped around his chest, and beginning to swim to the shore. But he stopped.

On shore stood both of those tigers. One being completely soaked, and the other one having regrouped with its apparent companion. Ace grumbled some death threats under his breath, wanting to go on shore and beat the living-

No, he couldn't. He peeked at the soaked head of raven hair leaning against him and decided against all those feelings. Instead, he began circling around the shore, keeping eye contact with the tigers until they were out of sight, blocked out by some rock outcroppings.

 _Hopefully they don't follow us_ , Ace thinks as he tries to decide where to swim to. The shore looks like something foreign. Ace was sure he had seen every inch of the island, but he had never seen this part of the island. He hadn't been to this shore apparently.

With a soft grunt, Ace grabbed onto a low hanging vine, one that was hanging near the water, and pulled up on it, trying to latch onto the rock above him. It seemed safe enough here to him. Luffy sagged against him as Ace climbed up the rock, arms and legs swinging like noodles.

A soft grumble of frustration, and Ace was kneeling on the ground, releasing the vine from his grasp and letting Luffy lie on the ground.

"Oi, Luffy." he said, shaking his hair out, "Wake up."

Luffy would generally just go into a sort of sleepy state. The water exhausted him, Ace knew that much, but he'd be fine here soon. Of course he would . . .

But, he didn't react. Ace casted a curious look, eyebrow arched in a sort of concerned way, but he was still trying not to let it show.

"Luffy." he said again, tapping his brother's leg with his foot where it lay.

Again, no response.

"Luffy!" he yelled, hoping to at least startled his brother, but when nothing happened still, Ace began to panic.

"Oi, oi, oi." he mumbled, pushing himself onto his knees and glaring down at his brother, "What's wrong? Luffy?"

Obviously, by now Ace didn't exactly expect a reply, but it helped in the panic rising up in his throat. He didn't know what to do in situations like this! Hell, when Luffy got attacked by the bear king, the first thing he thought to do was run and get help, but . . .

Ace looked around frantically at the thought. He didn't know where they were. He was . . . lost.

Ace ran a shaky hand through his hair, letting out a breathy string of curses before looking his brother over. He immediately recognized a few things. No blood. That meant no injuries. But, his breathing . . .

Ace put a frantic hand palm down on Luffy's chest, eyes peeled open in a heavy stare. Nothing. No breathing.

Ace could have screamed, but no. He wouldn't. He had to think. He couldn't lose another brother. His only remaining brother.

"C'mon, Lu!" he yelled, not caring if the tigers possibly searching for them heard him, "What are you doing?"

Grabbing both of Luffy's shoulders, Ace began shaking him relentlessly, not really knowing what else to do with the pounding in his ears. His brother's soaked hair waved back and forth, head lulling.

Ace decided to stop with that, figuring it wasn't working. He forced himself to think. He _knew_ what to do! He just _couldn't think!_

Compressions. That's what they were called. He hadn't actually been taught how to do them, but he knew it had something to do with putting your hands on their chest and pushing. So, he did so. Putting his hands on Luffy's chest and pushing.

The rubbery body of his brother absorbed everything. Ace, feeling his frustration and fear grow ever more, stood at that. Doing the first thing that came to mind, Ace brought his foot down upon his brother, _hard_ . . .

And the gasp that came after couldn't have been more relieving to Ace's ears. Water flowed from Luffy's nose and mouth, coughs and gasps repeatedly coming. It took Ace a second to react, shock at the prior events still settling. When he did, however, Ace knelt quickly next to his brother, grabbing the back of Luffy's head and one shoulder and turning him onto his side. Ace wasn't quite sure why he knew how to do this. It just happened.

Ace just knelt there, Luffy's head in his hands and upper body leaning against his. Ace would never admit it, but he might have been holding Luffy in a sort of hug. Awkwardly positioned, but a hug nonetheless.

When Luffy was done hacking up his lungs, he just laid there. Ace didn't bother saying anything. He just sat there too.

"Ace." Luffy muttered tiredly after a few minutes of silence. The younger turned his head slowly until his shiny and tear-filled eyes met Ace's.

Ace bit his lip, setting his forehead on Luffy's and mumbling quietly, "Don't do that again." Because now he actually understood the curse that came with his brother's abilities. He knew the risks, and it terrified him.

* * *

Luffy didn't quite know what was happening, but Ace was hugging him and when Ace hugged him it was rare, so he stayed put contently. A bleary Ace came into sight at some point, a red tinted face, and glossy eyes. Luffy didn't understand why Ace looked that way. He looked sad. A sad expression didn't belong on Ace's face.

Not knowing what else to do, Luffy just smiled one of his widest smiles. And if the soft hand that ruffled his hair wasn't a good reply to that smile, Luffy didn't know what was.

Eventually, Luffy succumbed back into the blackness. Ace didn't wake him up like he thought he would, which was nice. Instead, he woke back up swaying, and two hands holding him up on someone's back.

Usually, Luffy would still be terrified about the descent into water that made him feel like this. Now though, he was with Ace. Nothing could hurt him if Ace was there. So, he smiled again, and snuggled into the shoulder of his big brother as they approached home.


End file.
